Memorial Day is not only a day to spotlight our military heroes, it’s also a day to recognize canine service members who are an essential part of the team. Thousands of dogs are deployed overseas and serve in police K-9 units across the country, but when they retire, the cost of their care rests solely on their owners or handlers. Stephanie Berzinski explains a new program to help support retired military and police dogs.

"There's really not a pension program for these dogs after their retirement. So we decided to set up a fund that would provide financial support for the families that adopted them," Dr. Michael McFarland, advocate for the Rimadyl K-9 Courage Program, said.

The Rimadyl K-9 Courage Program started two years ago when McFarland and his team noticed a critical need to help handlers and owners pay for the cost of care for these very special dogs.

"RIMADYL K-9 Courage actually provides a debit card for those families, $300 per year, that they can use in any veterinary clinic in the United States and get routine veterinary care or help defer the cost of their ongoing care for any chronic medical issues that they have," McFarland explained.

It’s financial support for retired military dogs like Lady and her human companion Lt. Col. Cory Christoffer. The pair met while serving in Afghanistan in 2013.

"We were doing separate jobs, but it was there that I met her every single day basically after meal time and it was just up to her time to retire and so right place, right time I was able to adopt her and bring her home," Christoffer said.

Lady, a loving Labrador, worked four long and dangerous years at three different military bases as an explosives detection dog, but now she enjoys retirement in a safe and loving environment, always by Christoffer’s side.